Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jazz singer Kamelia Todorova turns sixty

БНР Новини
Photo: BGNES




Singer Kamelia Todorova turns 60 in January, an occasion to take a look back at her career. Her professional life has taken different turns and throughout her career she has been faced with numerous challenges. The talented singer has graduated the Pop and Jazz department at the National Music Academy with Irina Chmihova. Kamelia was one the few musicians who chose to sing in what was, at that time a “forbidden genre” – jazz. In her development as a performer she has been influenced by pianists like Mario Stanchev and Sasho Mirev. Over that same period, Kamelia Todorova grew to be very popular in pop music as well. Her unforgettable songs Don’t Look at Me That Way, Boy, Whispered Dreams, Mood have gone down in Bulgarian musical history.

Throughout her career Kamelia Todorova has traveled abroad, taken part in different festivals and won awards, among them second prize at the Young Jazz Singers Competition in Lublin, Poland, as well as well as the special prize named after Duke Ellington. She has released several albums.

In the 1980’s Kamelia Todorova’s name was also connected with Bulgarian cinema. The most vivid memory we have of her is in her role in the film The Queen of Turnovo, where she starred alongside famous actors like Nevena Kokanova and Stefan Danailov. The film is based on the novel by Emilian Stanev of the same name. The film is directed by Yanko Yankov who is also scriptwriter and the soundtrack is by Georgi Genkov. There followed other films in which she starred, among them Tide of Tenderness and Bonne Chance, Inspector. Radio Bulgaria’s Sibilla Lilova talked to Kamelia Todorova:

“Positive energy is what gives me strength. It is my reason to live, to work, to smile, and through my music I have tried to pass it on to other people. I love to create and I love my work as a pedagogue at New Bulgarian University. I am very fond of this profession because of the young people I work with. I love to sing.”

On January 24 Kamelia Todorova marks her birthday with a concert at a club in Sofia. Her fans will be able to enjoy music by some of the most prominent jazzmen and their formations - Misho Yossifov Quintet, Zhivko Petrov Trio, Angel Zaberski Jr. Trio, Vassil Petrov, Kalin Velyov. The works they will perform will be a retrospection of Kamelia’s career and include some of her best-loved and emblematic Bulgarian songs, as well as jazz and soul pieces.

“I am currently making recordings at the Bulgarian National Radio for a new album,” Kamelia Todorova says. “I hope it will be ready and will be released by the end of 2014. The album features rewritten works by renowned composers included in a rock project of mine in 1990. This time the music will lean more towards soul and swing. I am also preparing a mini-tour around Bulgaria with a big concert in Sofia at the end of the year.”

The audio to this file contains the following recordings:

-  Mood;

-  Since I Fell in Love with You, a live recording from the Jazz Festival in Rousse in 2007, together with the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band, conductor Yanko Miladinov;

-  Goodbye, music Rachel Row, a live recording from the Jazz Festival in Bansko, together with the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band, conductor Antony Donchev.


English version: Milena Daynova




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Theodosii Spassov presents ‘’Balkan Moods’’ in Geneva

The renowned Bulgarian kaval player Theodosii Spassov will give a concert tonight in Geneva, Switzerland. The concert starts at 8 pm in Frank-Martin Hall and is titled "Balkan Moods". Theodosii Spassov will perform together with four other musicians:..

updated on 10/8/24 1:16 PM

Radostina Yovkova’s song "Ti doide" combines folklore and pop sound

Radostina Yovkova’s song, entitled "Ti doide" is an interesting meeting of Bulgarian folklore and contemporary creativity. The singer invited her colleague Boris Iliev for the realization of the song. "Ti doide" is a combination of Radostina's song..

published on 10/7/24 5:54 PM

Sofia Philharmonic with concert at renowned concert hall in Amsterdam

The Sofia Philharmonic, under the baton of Nayden Todorov, will perform tonight at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, considered to be one of the most prestigious concert halls in the world, the Bulgarian embassy in the Hague has announced...

published on 10/6/24 9:00 AM